Editorials and articles in both Denver dailies have praised the recently completed Democratic National Convention as an unqualified success.

Writers cite minimal traffic disruptions, nice weather, and favorable treatment by the international media. In his recent article, Kevin Simpson notes that several downtown restaurants saw dramatic increases in revenue during the Convention.

If financial benefits and media impressions are the only measures, then, yes, it can be said that the Convention was a success. But some alternative measures could also be applied to the DNC. The promotion of free speech, for example.

Allowing groups to demonstrate and promoting a climate that supports and encourages healthy debate are two different things. There were many instances of subtle and not-so-subtle restrictions on free speech during the Convention.

For example, when I arrived at Civic Center Park on Wednesday morning, I found the park surrounded by an eight foot chain link fence, and dozens of uniformed police officers in the area, some in full riot gear, and others speeding around hanging on the sides of large white SUVs.

I had heard that Civic Center would be one of the main focus areas for political demonstrations and protests, and I had imagined the Park would be full of different groups representing different points of view, all engaging in the vigorous open debate and sharing of information that is essential for a fully functioning democracy.

Instead, I had to cross the street – even the sidewalk was closed – and walk around to the back corner of the park, where I found a small area left open for protest groups.

A staff member inside the fence told me they were setting up for the Taste of Colorado Festival, scheduled to start two days hence.

Other examples of the cool climate for political discourse were evident. During Convention week, I also visited the so-called ‘Free Speech Zone” up the street from the Pepsi Center.

I found a barren acre of pavement, with a stage and a microphone and a couple of tourists making silly videos.

On a white board that was supposed to be a schedule of speakers, some wit had filled every slot with pithy sayings from famous Americans like Mark Twain about the importance of the citizens protecting their free speech rights.

This, I thought, is definitely not what democracy looks like. And we should not forget the tempest that occurred just a few days before the convention, when Tent State organizers asked to be allowed to camp in City Park.

You would think that the City Council could have made an exception to the rules for an event that occurs only once every hundred years.

And how embarrassing it was to listen to City Councilman Doug Linkhart on the radio, shrilly lumping together lawful protestors and terrorists bent on the destruction of America.

Back at Civic Center on Friday night, the Taste of Colorado was in full swing. The riot police were nowhere to be seen and the chain link fence had been taken down.

During the Convention, I had chatted with some members of the Falun Gong, a Chinese religious group that has been mercilessly persecuted by the Chinese government.

I observed with some irony that, on the exact spot where the Falun Gong had been protesting against the abuses of the Chinese government, there were now pretty college girls in matching t-shirts handing out samples of the latest kleenex product – ‘Strong Yet Absorbent’.

Now that all the self-congratulations are finished, and we all have sore elbows from patting ourselves on the back, it is time to ask some hard questions.

How would things had been if our fine city had promoted civic discourse and vigorous political debate as much as it had the Taste of Colorado?

Was the Democratic Convention just a marketing opportunity for the city, or could it have been something more?

An opportunity, perhaps, to show the nation and the world that Denver can hold an event of this scale and at the same time host a mature and needed debate on the future of this country. That opportunity, sadly, was missed.